CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- As the first half of the conference slate closes and the second half opens this weekend, the teams sitting in the top three slots in the conference standings take home the weekly awards for the period ending October 16. University at Albany senior middle blocker Casey Wright (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) receives Player of the Week recognition, University of New Hampshire freshman libero Sam Henke (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) earns Rookie of the Week honors and Stony Brook University senior Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.) picks up Setter of the Week distinction.
Wright averaged 5.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per set with a .509 hitting percentage in two matches over the weekend to take home her first award of the season. The senior recorded 14 kills without an error in 23 attempts for a .609 hitting percentage in a three-game sweep of Hartford on Friday. She also finished with six total blocks, including three solo, against the Hawks. Wright followed that up on the road at New Hampshire on Sunday with 16 kills on .438 hitting. She added three blocks and three digs for the match. Wright led the league last week with 6.00 points per set.
Henke logged an outstanding defensive showing as the Wildcats' libero last week, averaging 5.14 digs pet set while adding two assists and an ace. Against previously unbeaten Albany, Henke racked up 17 digs and helped limit the league's top-hitting team to a .097 hitting percentage, including .000 in the third and final set. On Friday night against Binghamton, she recorded a team-high 19 digs. Henke has recorded double-digit digs in 11 of the team's last 12 matches and has improved her average to 3.92 digs against America East opponents.
Sullivan was the floor marshall for Stony Brook who hit .346 as a team last week in two victories. She led the Seawolves to their two highest hitting percentages of the season in sweeps of LIU and Providence, while leading the conference with 12.67 assists per set last week. The senior also added six kills, four digs and four blocks. Sullivan had 33 assists and directed SBU to a .337 hitting percentage in a 3-0 non-conference win over LIU on Wednesday. On Sunday against Providence, Sullivan led Stony Brook to a .356 hitting percentage and dished out 43 assists, a conference season high for a three-set match.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (11-8 overall, 5-1 in America East) split two matches over the weekend against conference opponents Hartford and New Hampshire... The Great Danes swept the Hawks in three sets on Friday, and then were swept in three on the road at New Hampshire on Sunday... Senior middle blocker Casey Wright (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) averaged 5.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per set, with a .509 hitting percentage over the two matches. She recorded 14 kills on .609 hitting along with six total blocks against Hartford and added 16 kills versus the Wildcats... Senior setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson) handed out 34 assists in both matches over the weekend for an 11.33 per set average. Stanley recorded a double-double against Hartford, adding 11 digs to her total... Junior Traci Vandegrift (Mogodore, Ohio/Field) averaged 3.00 kills per set in the two matches... Libero Laurie Gonzalez (Carolina, Puerto Rico/St. Francis School) continues to be one of the conference's top defensive players, averaging 7.67 digs over the two matches... UAlbany will return to action with a non-conference match against Colgate on Wednesday, before hosting Binghamton in America East play on Sunday.
Binghamton University (10-13, 2-4 AE) split a pair of America East matches last week, defeating first-place New Hampshire and falling at Hartford in a tough five-set match... Playing without top hitter, Iva Partaleva, Binghamton stuck to their game plan of spreading the ball out having three different players record double-digit kills in both games last week... Sophomore Grace Vickers (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) and freshmen Kristin Hovie (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) and Annelot Nieuwenhuis (Maumee Ohio/Anthony Wayne) helped fill the void left by Partaleva... Vickers and Nieuwenhuis each averaged 3.00 kills per set, while Hovie chipped in 2.33 finishes per frame... Junior middle Alex Roland (Austin, Tex./Austin) established a career high with 22 kills against Hartford on Sunday, while collecting six blocks... Quarterbacking Binghamton's dynamic offense was freshman setter Amanda Dettmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels), who had matches of 36 assists, 10 digs and 56 assists, 14 digs over the weekend... Binghamton will host non-conference opponent Syracuse on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. then travel to first-place Albany on Sunday, Oct. 23 with first serve at 5 p.m.
The Hawks (11-12, 2-4 AE) closed out four-straight home matches with a five-set victory over the Binghamton Bearcats, capping off a two-match week with a 1-1 record... The Hawks opened the week with a three-set loss to Albany on Friday night... Junior outside hitter Kami Nethersole (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendruck Hudson) led the Hawks in both matches finishing with 11 kills against Albany and 26, tying her season high, in the win over Binghamton... Freshman setter Jackie Tamburri (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hendruck Hudson) continued to lead her squad as the on-court leader, combining for 83 total assists, including 56 in the win over the Bearcats, her fourth match of the season with 50 or more assists. She also placed her self in the top-five for single-season assists with her 56 against the Bearcats, giving her 921 total for the season. With 79 more, she would be just the third player to record 1,000 or more assists since the start of rally scoring... Another rookie, Sareeta Nethersole (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendruck Hudson) finished the week second on the squad with 22 total kills, including 14 in the win over Binghamton. She also added a team best 20 digs in the victory, pushing her team high in digs to 283 total... The Hawks will play just one match in the week ahead, traveling to New Hampshire to start the second round of conference matches on Friday at 7 p.m.
UMBC (12-9, 2-4 AE) swept Providence, its lone match of the week, in three sets (25-15, 25-15, 25-20)… The Retrievers have now won six of the eight all-time meetings with the Friars, including the last six contests between the two teams… This is the Retrievers’ ninth three-set victory of the season… Freshman Dalton Tolliver (Ortonville, Mch./Notre Dame Prep) led the Retrievers in hitting, finishing with 12 kills on a .647 hitting percentage. This is the fifth consecutive contest that Tolliver has recorded double-digit kills… Senior Iman Kennedy (C harlotte, N.C./Independence) also registered 11 kills for her first double-digit performance of the season… Senior setter Allie Spaay (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Tremper) finished the match with 31 assists, marking the 12th time she has recorded 30 or more assists in a single contest this year, and the fifth time she has done this in 2011 America East play… Sophomore Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) was the lone Retriever in double-digits for digs with ten. Carter has registered ten or more digs in 16 of 21 contests this season… UMBC now hits the road for three consecutive away contests beginning with Stony Brook on Sat., Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.
New Hampshire (6-16, 5-1 AE) split a pair of home matches over the weekend, sweeping then-unbeaten Albany, 3-0, after falling to Binghamton by a 3-1 decision... In the 3-0 win over Albany, senior Amy Keding (Northbrook, Ill.) led the attack as she racked up a match-high 21 kills and added a team-best 19 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. In addition to Keding, senior Lauren Laquerre (Concord, N.H.) and junior Jansan Falcusan (Plymouth, Mich.) also posted double-double performances in the team's second sweep of the season. Laquerre recorded 15 kills on .300 hitting and added 11 digs, while Falcusan led all players with 39 assists to go along with 16 digs... Freshman Sam Henke (Millersville, Md.) chipped with 17 digs, while sophomore Destiny Tolliver (Rochester, Mich.) added 10 digs and four blocks... As a team, the Wildcats posted a .194 hitting percentage, including a .414 hitting percentage in the second set... The team's 49 kills, 46 assists and 87 digs were the most by the team in a three-set match this season... In the loss to Binghamton, Keding recorded a match-high 16 kills and sophomore Morgan Thatcher (Brockton, Mass.) added 13 kills and six blocks. Additionally, Falcusan registered a match-high 39 assists, while senior Jessy Dick (Lethbridge, Alberta) racked up seven blocks... The Wildcats return to conference play on Friday, Oct. 21 when they play host to Hartford at 7 p.m.
The Friars (6-17, 1-5 AE) have dropped four-straight matches in America East play, since defeating Hartford on Oct. 2... During the span, Providence has only won one set, which was against Binghamton on Oct. 9... Senior Shelagh Dolan led the Friars with 15 kills in two matches - and averaged 2.50 kills per set... The Friars posted a hitting percentage of just .133 on the week in their two matches, while their opponents hit for .353... Of the Friars' seven remaining matches, five will be played at home in the friendly confines of Alumni Hall... PC's only road matches left on the regular-season schedule will be played at Hartford (10/28) and New Hampshire (10/30).
The Seawolves (11-9, 4-2 AE) swept LIU and Providence last week... SBU has now won three-straight matches... Stony Brook hit a season-high .337 against LIU before breaking that mark with a .356 hitting percentage against Providence on Sunday... Senior setter Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.) averaged 12.67 assists per set for the week as she had 33 assists against LIU before tallying 43 against Providence... Stony Brook hit a combined .346 in the two matches... Senior Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) had 21 kills on a .477 hitting percentage against LIU... The win over LIU snapped the Black Birds' six-match winning streak... The Seawolves had 12 blocks (2 block solos, 20 block assists) against LIU. The 12 total blocks and 20 block assists tied season highs... SBU has only one match this week, hosting UMBC at Pritchard Gymnasium on Saturday.